Photographs are usually taken using either a standard optical camera or a digital camera. Photographs, once taken, are usually developed and printed by a photo developing service bureau, although photographs taken with a digital camera may be printed onto ordinary paper or photo paper using a computer printer.
There are several organizational problems associated with keeping records of photographs. Perhaps the most common way of keeping photographs organized is to place them in a photo album with appropriate labels. This is a relatively time-intensive activity, and normally does not cater for storing negatives associated with the photos in an orderly manner. Accordingly, when a person wants a reproduction of a photograph, the associated negatives often cannot be found easily, and it is often necessary to try to create a reproduction from the printed photo.
Digital photographs may be stored on CD-ROMs, floppy disks, hard disks or other data storage media. Photograph organizing software may be used to organize photos, achieving a result similar to that provided by physical photo albums. However, such organizers fail to take advantage of the full benefits which may be gained through the use of computer networks.
Travelers often wish to send copies of photos which they have taken to people back at home. It is possible to do this by having copies of the photos printed and sent by mail; however, this is relatively time-and-labor-intensive. If the photographs are taken on a digital camera, it is possible to send a copy to another person by e-mail. However, photographs are usually relatively large data files, and they may undesirably fill up the recipient's e-mail in-box space. Further, it is necessary for the sender to send a copy of each photo which the sender wishes to share to each recipient. This is a relatively inefficient way of sharing photographs.